Grave environmental concerns as Penang ushers in 2019

A sobering message as we usher in 2019. Wishing you all the best in the coming year. See also this Aliran statement about the need to work together to achieve the vision of a new Malaysia.

This is a message from Khoo Salma Nasution, which sums up the state of Penang in 2018 going into 2019:

As we come to the end of 2018, we note that the Penang environment has gone through annus horribilis two years in a row. Two landslide tragedies took place within the space of one year, resulting in 20 precious lives lost.

A measly RM35,000 fine was imposed for 11 lives lost in the BSG Granito landslide. No one has yet been held accountable for the MBPP Bukit Kukus Paired Road landslide.

The floods of November 2017 were followed by a series of smaller floods, land slips and road slips this year. We are ill-prepared for another major climate event.

The draft Penang Structure Plan displayed this year (2018) is loosening hill development restrictions and showing us a vision of rapacious reclamation with an utter lack of concern for coastal environment, sustainable fisheries and Life Under Water.

The Peel Avenue land, which could have been used for public purpose, has been sold and heritage bungalows demolished. And just this week, the illegal clearing of a football-field size area of mangroves has been discovered.

A 10-km Pulau Betong to Telok Bahang road was announced recently, which will mean the destruction of large areas of mangrove.

In light of the recent tsunami tragedies in Indonesia, the present government’s continued disregard for mangrove tsunami barriers seem completely short-sighted. “Botak Hill” is still botak.

Penang’s future is fraught with man-made environmental threats. The Pan-Island Link (PIL) will severely compromise and/or destroy the two most important parks on Penang island: Sungai Ara Linear Park and Youth Park.

The trees along the entire stretch of Persiaran Kuari into Youth Park will likely be cut down for the feeder road. While we are busy planting small trees and saving some grass circles, there is no honest account of all the mature old-growth trees that will be sacrificed for the various components of the proposed Penang transport masterplan.

Penangites have seen the state’s unrealistic physical development policies that will put undue pressure on our natural environment. We have come to realise that we can no longer rely on politicians to help us with the proliferating environmental issues in the face of over-development, and the state’s lack of understanding on new strategies and new building codes needed to adapt to climate change.

Instead, we, the People of Penang, need to come together to save our state.

This year alone, petitions to save the hills of Penang, stop hill cutting for housing development, and reject damaging highways, have raised a total of almost 150,000 signatures.

They are:

Floods & Landslide: Stop Hill Cutting for Housing Development (almost 80,000 signatures)

Reject PIL/Zenith (20,000 signatures on online and hard copy)

Save Penang Hill (almost 45,000 signatures)

The proposed highways and expensive LRT would leave our future generations in debt. We want public funds to be spent on repairing our hills and preventing future flooding, so that Penangites will not become the victims of development.

We warn of the dangers of building 70km of new highway (Zenith and SRS Consortium), most of them through parks, established neighbourhoods and environmentally-sensitive areas.

Instead, we want a masterplan that will prioritise affordable public transport even if it means introducing traffic restrictions and congestion charges: moving people, not cars.

We call upon the people of Penang to wake up and demand development and transport strategies which are not destructive to our environment, and which will not fail our climate commitments or betray the Penang we leave to future generations.

Khoo Salma Nasution is a Penang Forum steering committee member.